Jeremy Corbyn lays into Conservatives

Jeremy Corbyn claimed the future of the NHS and schools was on the line in the General Election as he attempted to steer the campaign away from Brexit.

(Image: PA)

It comes after Theresa May used the resumption of campaigning to stress her core messages of leadership and exiting the EU, saying Mr Corbyn was not prepared for crunch talks with Brussels that will start within days of the General Election and would find himself “alone and naked” in the negotiations.

Labour’s analysis claims that under Tory plans, 5.5 million people will find themselves on NHS waiting lists in England by 2022, the scheduled end of the next parliament, a 1.8 million increase from now.

Seeking to exploit perceived Tory weakness on social care, Mr Corbyn also said 1.5 million older and vulnerable people will not have their social care needs met.

Meanwhile 650,000 school children will be “crammed” into primary school classes larger than 30 pupils, and families will be almost £450 worse off per child as a result of Tory plans to scrap free school meals for 1.7 million children.

The Department for Education’s own figures show that this includes more than 19,000 pupils in the North East, with 900 primary pupils taught in classes of 40 or more.

Metro delays ended

The delays on the Metro due to an earlier incident have now been cleared.

20:55Katie Collings

Fire breaks out on Tuxedo Royale

A fire has broken out on the much-loved former Newcastle party boat the Tuxedo Royale.

(Image: Handout)

Smoke can be seen billowing for miles from the once popular Geordie nightspot which has been left to rust on the River Tees since 2009.

Thick black smoke has drifted across the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough as five crews from Cleveland Fire Brigade attempt to contain the fire.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said: “We can confirm that we’ve got five fire crews on scene, and there’s a fire on the decks.

“That’s all we can say at the moment.”

The Tuxedo Royale - formerly known as the TSS Dover and later renamed the Earl Siward and then the Sol Express - was moved to Able UK’s Middlesbrough port in 2009 after spending time on the Tyne as a popular nightclub.

Its owners went into administration shortly after, leaving it with no legal owner - and therefore nobody to take responsibility for its maintenance or removal.